Edited by Benno Ferrarini, Principal Economist, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, Asian Development Bank, Marcelo M. Giugale, Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University and former Director, World Bank and Juan J. Pradelli, Researcher, Center for the Study of State and Society and former Senior Economist, World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank

‘This is an important book, for at least three very different reasons. First, it provides an excellent, and very recent, analysis of debt accumulation in a region whose financial stability matters to the entire world. Second, it explains in an easy-to-understand way the role that borrowing has in the behavior of governments, corporations, and households. And, third, it introduces the reader to new and powerful financial instruments that can benefit not just lenders and borrowers but society as a whole. A must read.’

• Contents:Foreword by Yasuyuki Sawada ixOverview and synthesis 1Benno Ferrarini, Marcelo M. Giugale, and Juan J. PradelliPART I A DIAGNOSIS OF ASIA’S DEBT1 Debt in Asia: anatomy, evolution, and prospects 31Juan Pablo Paladino and Juan J. Pradelli2 Japan’s public debt sustainability before and after COVID-19 66Jérémie Cohen-Setton and Keita Oikawa3 People’s Republic of China: features and recent evolution of corporate debt 87Ninghua Zhong and Mi Xie4 Asia’s lower-income countries: concessional public debt, concessional rescues 108Nicolas Depetris-Chauvin5 Pacific Islands’ debt: financing post-COVID-19 recovery amidprecarious sustainability 136Roland Rajah and Alexandre Dayant6 Subnational debt: developing a sustainable market 167Lili Liu7 Asia’s corporate debt: assessing its role in financial vulnerability 188Hernán D. Seoane8 Household debt: supply-driven sugar rushes 214Maria Teresa PunziPART II THE RISKS BEHIND ASIA’S DEBT9 Fiscal uncertainty: the thankless task of forecasting Asia’s fiscal accounts 239Ugo Panizza10 Fiscal space: Asia’s fiscal safety net has shrunk 269Andrea F. Presbitero11 Contingent liabilities: monitoring exposures that are difficult to measure 299Timothy C. Irwin12 Debt generators: the case of energy subsidies 317Klaus Enders13 Population aging and debt 342Sang-Hyop Lee, Andrew Mason, and Donghyun ParkPART III WHAT NEXT? POLICIES TO KEEP ASIA’S DEBT SUSTAINABLE14 Debt management capacity: a tale of three Asias 367Phillip Anderson15 Fiscal insurance: a new tool of fiscal stability 389Luis de la Plaza16 Thematic bonds to diversify fiscal sources 409Farah Imrana HussainIndex 426

Edited by Benno Ferrarini, Principal Economist, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, Asian Development Bank, Marcelo M. Giugale, Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University and former Director, World Bank and Juan J. Pradelli, Researcher, Center for the Study of State and Society and former Senior Economist, World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank

‘This is an important book, for at least three very different reasons. First, it provides an excellent, and very recent, analysis of debt accumulation in a region whose financial stability matters to the entire world. Second, it explains in an easy-to-understand way the role that borrowing has in the behavior of governments, corporations, and households. And, third, it introduces the reader to new and powerful financial instruments that can benefit not just lenders and borrowers but society as a whole. A must read.’

• Contents:Foreword by Yasuyuki Sawada ixOverview and synthesis 1Benno Ferrarini, Marcelo M. Giugale, and Juan J. PradelliPART I A DIAGNOSIS OF ASIA’S DEBT1 Debt in Asia: anatomy, evolution, and prospects 31Juan Pablo Paladino and Juan J. Pradelli2 Japan’s public debt sustainability before and after COVID-19 66Jérémie Cohen-Setton and Keita Oikawa3 People’s Republic of China: features and recent evolution of corporate debt 87Ninghua Zhong and Mi Xie4 Asia’s lower-income countries: concessional public debt, concessional rescues 108Nicolas Depetris-Chauvin5 Pacific Islands’ debt: financing post-COVID-19 recovery amidprecarious sustainability 136Roland Rajah and Alexandre Dayant6 Subnational debt: developing a sustainable market 167Lili Liu7 Asia’s corporate debt: assessing its role in financial vulnerability 188Hernán D. Seoane8 Household debt: supply-driven sugar rushes 214Maria Teresa PunziPART II THE RISKS BEHIND ASIA’S DEBT9 Fiscal uncertainty: the thankless task of forecasting Asia’s fiscal accounts 239Ugo Panizza10 Fiscal space: Asia’s fiscal safety net has shrunk 269Andrea F. Presbitero11 Contingent liabilities: monitoring exposures that are difficult to measure 299Timothy C. Irwin12 Debt generators: the case of energy subsidies 317Klaus Enders13 Population aging and debt 342Sang-Hyop Lee, Andrew Mason, and Donghyun ParkPART III WHAT NEXT? POLICIES TO KEEP ASIA’S DEBT SUSTAINABLE14 Debt management capacity: a tale of three Asias 367Phillip Anderson15 Fiscal insurance: a new tool of fiscal stability 389Luis de la Plaza16 Thematic bonds to diversify fiscal sources 409Farah Imrana HussainIndex 426

Edited by Benno Ferrarini, Principal Economist, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, Asian Development Bank, Marcelo M. Giugale, Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University and former Director, World Bank and Juan J. Pradelli, Researcher, Center for the Study of State and Society and former Senior Economist, World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank

‘This is an important book, for at least three very different reasons. First, it provides an excellent, and very recent, analysis of debt accumulation in a region whose financial stability matters to the entire world. Second, it explains in an easy-to-understand way the role that borrowing has in the behavior of governments, corporations, and households. And, third, it introduces the reader to new and powerful financial instruments that can benefit not just lenders and borrowers but society as a whole. A must read.’

• Contents:Foreword by Yasuyuki Sawada ixOverview and synthesis 1Benno Ferrarini, Marcelo M. Giugale, and Juan J. PradelliPART I A DIAGNOSIS OF ASIA’S DEBT1 Debt in Asia: anatomy, evolution, and prospects 31Juan Pablo Paladino and Juan J. Pradelli2 Japan’s public debt sustainability before and after COVID-19 66Jérémie Cohen-Setton and Keita Oikawa3 People’s Republic of China: features and recent evolution of corporate debt 87Ninghua Zhong and Mi Xie4 Asia’s lower-income countries: concessional public debt, concessional rescues 108Nicolas Depetris-Chauvin5 Pacific Islands’ debt: financing post-COVID-19 recovery amidprecarious sustainability 136Roland Rajah and Alexandre Dayant6 Subnational debt: developing a sustainable market 167Lili Liu7 Asia’s corporate debt: assessing its role in financial vulnerability 188Hernán D. Seoane8 Household debt: supply-driven sugar rushes 214Maria Teresa PunziPART II THE RISKS BEHIND ASIA’S DEBT9 Fiscal uncertainty: the thankless task of forecasting Asia’s fiscal accounts 239Ugo Panizza10 Fiscal space: Asia’s fiscal safety net has shrunk 269Andrea F. Presbitero11 Contingent liabilities: monitoring exposures that are difficult to measure 299Timothy C. Irwin12 Debt generators: the case of energy subsidies 317Klaus Enders13 Population aging and debt 342Sang-Hyop Lee, Andrew Mason, and Donghyun ParkPART III WHAT NEXT? POLICIES TO KEEP ASIA’S DEBT SUSTAINABLE14 Debt management capacity: a tale of three Asias 367Phillip Anderson15 Fiscal insurance: a new tool of fiscal stability 389Luis de la Plaza16 Thematic bonds to diversify fiscal sources 409Farah Imrana HussainIndex 426